1. Windows Server 2003 Std
2. Windows Server 2003 Std Oem Isotonic Solution
3. Windows Server 2003 Std Oem Isotonic Key

OEM stickers (license #s) generally go with the hardware they're affixed to. Technically you can't use one OEM license on a piece of physical hardware on another piece of physical hardware. And usually, that OEM license number is only usable when you attempt to install Windows Server 2003 from a Dell disk. Libhunspell.dllPlugIns/COPYING_ctags.txt GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991 Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Genuine Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard 5 CAL. FULL version of Server 2003 Standard. Pictured is the exact product you will receive. Limits greater than 4 GB for 32-bit Windows assume that PAE is enabled.Applies windows server 2003 r2 standard maximum memory To: ms works 9 best price uk Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003.

Should be able to use any copy of Win2K3, as long as you have a valid COA.

Thanks for your response. Yes, I do have a valid COA. But you see the problem is when we change the product key. During reinstallation of the server, an msdn license was used and now I am trying to register the server with its OEM license. So far I have tried, sysprep and activate windows method. Nothing seems to be working..all I get is invalid product key when trying to change it..
THX

I got my cds mixed up and installed the wrong version a ways back. I just called MS and we were able to activate with number on box itself. As long as it is a valid number you can get phone activation no problem and it didn't take that long.

there's no COA sticker on the server? If it came installed, there should be a sticker on the server itself that has the license number.

We ran into a little issue where Windows Server Standard only supports 32 GB of memory, which is depressing to find out when your server was recently upgraded to 48 awesome GB of memory.

Is it possible to do an in-place upgrade from Windows Server Standard (max 32 GB memory support) to Windows Server Enterprise or Datacenter (max 2TB memory support)?

I tried kicking off the Windows Server 2008 setup.exe from within the OS, which gives me an 'upgrade' option. but when I get to the 'Where do you want to install Windows' part of the process, it tells me

The partition you selected might contain files from a previous Windows installation. If it does, these files and folders will be moved to a folder named Windows.old. You will be able to access the information in Windows.old, but you will not be able to use your previous versions of Windows

That's.. not.. what I had in mind when I clicked 'upgrade'!

I really don't want to deal with a clean OS install on our production database sever, and would much rather do an upgrade install if at all possible!

chmeeeJeff AtwoodJeff Atwood

6 Answers

I fired up a VM with Windows 2008 Standard on it, and then upgraded it to Enterprise. At first I couldn't because I didn't have enough disk space available on the C drive. It appears that 15-20 Gigs of free space is required. Once I made the C drive larger it upgraded without issue.

When there wasn't enough space it wouldn't upgrade and would require that I install a new OS much like you said you saw.

After I clicked upgrade, the installer confirmed that I wanted to upgrade then it started the upgrade. It's still running at the moment, but I'm sure it'll finish eventually.

mrdennymrdenny

I know this question was originally regarding Server 2008, but I thought I'd post an easier answer that applies to Server 2008 R2 (and Win7 for that matter). I got the original info from TechNet Server Core blog post.

Starting with Windows 7 and 2008 R2, it's possible to upgrade editions in-place with the dism utility. You can only go upwards in edition (i.e. Standard to Enterprise) and you can't reverse the change. You'll also need the associated KMS Client Setup Key for the version you're going to. Here's a link to the list of KMS Client Setup Keys

To determine the installed edition, run:
DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition

To check the possible target editions, run:
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions

Crysis warhead texture mod download. Finally, to initiate an upgrade, run:
DISM /online /Set-Edition:<edition ID> /ProductKey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

For example, to upgrade to Enterprise from a downlevel version, run:
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerEnterprise /ProductKey:489J6-VHDMP-X63PK-3K798-CPX3Y

Ryan BolgerRyan Bolger

Microsoft seems to say so: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc755199(WS.10).aspx

This discussion seems to indicate that it's a matter of starting SETUP.EXE from inside the existing OS, as you did: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserversetup/thread/a9fb29a1-9cad-4d01-9e65-ce9b2b88232b

I'd say spin up a scratch box and give it a try.. (or start a community IT support site and wait for some poor addicted fool to do it and report back on whether or not it works.. >smile<)

Evan AndersonEvan Anderson

The message you get makes sense in the context, that this upgrade procedure is the same one for upgrading Windows Server 2003 to 2008. It's a warning that the old version - in your case the 2008 Standard Edition - cannot be used after the upgrade.

During the upgrade process all files, folders and applications associated with the previously installed Windows version are relocated to a windows.old folder and all user settings stored.

Once this task was completed, a clean installation of the new Windows version is performed and all saved user settings will be migrated to the new environment. A successful upgrade will include all applications, settings and user files from the previous operating system installation - in your case from Windows Server 2008 Standard.

Good luck!

splattnesplattne

Windows Server 2003 Std

As the answer is already here, I just thought I'd be the boring guy by stating that the general opinion on doing upgrades on Windows is that this is a feature reserved for home use and even then as a last resort only.

Wipe and redeploy. There are too many things that can go awry during an upgrade that are not immediately apparent.

But good thing it seems to work, I guess ;p

Windows Server 2003 Std Oem Isotonic Solution

Oskar Duveborn

Windows Server 2003 Std Oem Isotonic Key

Oskar Duveborn

I ran into some problems when trying to upgrade to Enterprise from Standard because our Product keys worked for both editions. Found the reason in this blog. The blog also recommended to use a MS client setup key to do the upgrade. The keys can be found here.

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